Well tools

ABSTRACT

A pulling tool for retrieving devices from well bores including a tool housing supportable from a wire line tool string, a pulling collet for releasably engaging a fishing neck on a well device, a locking sleeve movable over the collet for locking the collet on the fishing neck responsive to a downward force on the tool housing, and supporting structure for the collet and sleeve including one shear pin holding the locking sleeve in nonlocking position until a predetermined downward force is applied to the tool housing and another shear pin for releasing the locking sleeve to release the tool from a stuck well device.

United States Patent 1 3,628,822

[72] Inventor Jamesll-Bnslmk 3,327,784 6/1967 Pardue 294/86.l8X

Dallas, Tex. [2 pp No 857,857 FOREIGN PATENTS [22] Filed Sept 15,1969763,834 7/1967 Canada 294/8618 [45] Patented Dec. 21, 197] PrimaryExaminer- Evon C. Blunk [73] Assignee Otis Engineering CorporationAssistant Examiner-Johnny D. Cherry Dallas, Tex. Attorney-H. MathewsGarland [54] WELL TOOLS ABSTRACT: A pulling tool for retrieving devicesfrom well 15 Clalrns,9 Drawing Figsbores including a tool housingsupportable from a wire line s21 u.s.cr 294/8618, ring, Pulling'e'easably engaging a fishing 294/8628 294/8633 neck on a well device, alocking sleeve movable over the collet {51] lat.Cl. 1521! 31/02 thefishing 3 [501 Field ofSeardr 294/8617, mums, and suPPM"! 86 18 8618 38632 90 8624 8626. for the collet and sleeve including one shear pinholding the locking sleeve in nonlocking position until a predetermineddownward force is applied to the tool housing and another [56]References Cited shear pin for releasing the locking sleeve to releasethe tool UNITED STATES PATENTS from a stuck well device.

3,152,829 10/1964 Steele 294186.18

PATENTED UECZI an INVENTOR. James H. Bosrock A TTORNEY WELL TOOLS Thisinvention relates to well tools and more particularly relates to apulling tool for retrieving well devices from a well bore.

It is a particularly important object of this invention to provide a newand improved pulling tool for retrieving well devices from a well bore.

It is another object of the invention to provide a new and improved welltool of the character described which is locked on a device to beretrieved from a well bore responsive to downward forces.

It is another object of the invention to provide a pulling tool of thecharacter described which is releasable from a well device in a wellbore responsive to upward forces.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a pulling tool of thecharacter described wherein a locking collet is held on the fishing neckof a well device by a locking sleeve telescoped over the collet duringpulling and which is releasable for movement upwardly from around thecollet by severence of a shear pin responsive to an upward impact force.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a pulling toolwhich is supportable in a well bore from a standard wire line toolstring for retrieving well devices from the well bore.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a pulling tool of thecharacter described wherein the pulling collet is completely encased bythe locking sleeve during the pulling operation.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a pulling toolhaving a collet with outwardly biased pulling fingers which are at theirexpanded release positions except when held inwardly by the lockingsleeve of the tool.

It is an especially important object of the invention to provide apulling tool for retrieving devices from a well bore which includes amaximum number of pulling dogs in the form of collet fingers forproviding maximum load distribution between the pulling tool and thefishing neck of the well device to be retrieved by the tool so thatminimum pressure is applied over any given area of the pulling shoulderor flange of the device engaged by the pulling tool.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a pulling tool of thecharacter described which is capable of retrieving a well device withminimum damage to the surface areas of the well device engaged by thepulling tool so that the engaged surface areas of the retrieved deviceare preserved and their life is extended.

It is another especially important object of the invention to provide apulling tool of the character described which includes a pulling colletlocking skirt positively held at an inoperative position until thepulling collet is fully engaged over the fishing neck of the well deviceto be retrieved by the pulling tool. I

It is another especially important object of the invention to provide apulling tool of the character described which includes a pulling colletlocking sleeve which fits with fairly close tolerances fully over aplurality of circumferentially spaced radially movable pulling colletfingers holding the fingers very closely around the fishing neck of thedevice being retrieved allowing minimum free play of the internal bosseson the pulling collet fingers so that maximum surface and alignedcontact is maintained between the pulling collet fingers and the fishingneck shoulder surfaces on the device being retrieved thereby minimizingdamage to the fishing neck and the pulling collet fingers and extendingthe life of both the device being retrieved and the pulling tool.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a pulling tool of thecharacter described which comprises a minimum of component partsinterconnected by simplified couplings which require only a singlethreaded connection which could be damaged by impact forces to which thetool is subjected during operation.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a pulling tool orthe character described which permits minimum wall thickness along theportions of the tool which fit over the fishing neck of the well deviceto be retrieved.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be readilyapparent from reading the following description of a device constructedin accordance with the invention and reference to the accompanyingdrawings thereof wherein:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal view in section and elevation of a pulling toolembodying the invention in a wire line tool string supported over thefishing neck of a device to be retrieved from a well with the pullingtool;

FIG. 2 is a view in section along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in section along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view in section along the line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view in section along the line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal view in section and elevation ofthe tool of FIG. 1 showing the locking collet of the tool engaged on thefishing neck of the device to be retrieved and the collet locking sleeveof the pulling tool telescoped over the pulling collet;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal view in section and elevation of the pullingtool being lifted to retrieve the well device;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary longitudinal view in section and elevation ofthe pulling tool released from the well device responsive to an upwardforce; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal view in sectionillustrating particularly the shear pin connection of the collet lockingsleeve with the locking collet supporting structure.

In the oil industry and particularly in servicing and producing oilwells, much well apparatus and well servicing and production techniquesinvolve the running and pulling of subsurface well devices, such asvarious types of chokes, well valves, and related subsurface devices. Itis common practice to run such devices into wells, lock them in place,and release and retrieve them with wire line tools which include suchapparatus as jars for applying upward and downward impact blows, asocket tool for supporting the string of tools from a flexible wire lineextending from and supporting the tools from the surface, knuckle jointsto provide flexibility to, the tool string, and other related units. Thepulling tool of the invention is generally supported from a socketconnector as the lower end component of the tool string so that when thetool string is lowered into a well bore to retrieve a well device thepulling tool is the first unit of the tool string to reach the device tobe retrieved.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a pulling tool 10 embodying theinvention is illustrated supported over the fishing neck of a welldevice 11 to be retrieved with the pulling tool. The pulling tool isconnected in a suitable standard wire line tool string generallyrepresented by the reference numeral 12. The tool string is movablysuspended in a well bore, not shown, from a flexible wire cable 13. Thetool string 12 is raised and lowered in the well bore on the cable formanipulating the pulling tool 10 to releasably connect it with the welldevice 11 for retrieving the device from the well bore.

The pulling tool 10 has a housing 14 comprising a tubular cylinderportion 15 and a head or subportion 20 provided with an integralexternally threaded pin 21. The pin 21 threads into the downwardlyopening internally threaded bore 22 of the lowermost fitting of the wireline tool string, which may be the lower socket section of a knucklejoint in the tool string. The sub 20 includes an external stop flange 24which engages the lower end of the fitting 23 when the pin 21 is tightlythreaded into the bore 22. The sub 20 also has flat side surfaceportions 25 which may be two or more in number extending longitudinallyalong the side faces of the sub for engagement of a wrench or similartool to facilitate handling of the tool housing during assembly anddisassembly of the tool and the connection of the tool with the wireline tool string. The tubular portion 15 of the tool housing hasinternal threads 30 along its lower end portion and is provided withspaced bleed ports 31 and 32 which minimize any piston effect whichmight occur within the tubular portion of the housing during operationof the pulling tool. The lower end of the sub 20 defines a stop shoulder20a within the upper end of the cylinder portion 15.

A lower tubular retainer 33 is threaded along an upper reduced portion334 into the threads 30 at the lower end of the cylinder portion of thetool housing The wall thickness of the retainer 33 is greater than thewall thickness of the cylinder portion 15 so that the upper end of theretainer portion 33a defines an internal annular stop shoulder 34 withinthe cylinder of the housing.

A longitudinally movable locking collet assembly 35 is supported fromthe tool housing. The collet assembly includes a locking collet 40 and acollet locking sleeve 41 slidably supported for longitudinal movementfrom an upper release position to a lower locking position. A pullingsleeve or bushing 42 is slidably disposed through the retainer 33 withthe lower end of the sleeve having an external annular flange 43 and theupper end of the sleeve being provided with an external annular recess44. An internally flanged split retainer or stop ring comprisingidentical half-ring portions 45, FIG. 3, is assembled on the upper endportion of the sleeve engaging its recess portion 44 to engage theshoulder 34 on the upper end of the retainer 33 thereby slidably holdingthe sleeve 42 in the cylinder housing portion 15.

The locking collet 40 comprises a plurality of outwardly sprungresilient locking fingers 50 dependent from an integral head portion 51on an elongate piston-rodlike core 52. The locking fingers have inwardlyextending locking bosses 53 adapted to engage the locking shoulder 54 onthe fishing neck of the well device 11 when the locking fingers are heldinwardly over the fishing neck as shown in FIGS, 6 and 7. The lockingcollet head 51 has a downwardly opening internally threaded blind holeor bore 55 for connecting into the collet a well device manipulatingtool such as an equalizing prong useful in equalizing the pressureacross a valve being retrieved with the pulling tool, which is standardpractice in the industry. The core 52 has an external cylindricalsurface sized to slide through the sleeve 42 so that the core and thelocking collet and its head portion slide relative to the sleeve 42. Thecore 52 is secured to the sleeve 42 by a shear pin 60 which extendslaterally through the sleeve 42 and the core 52 as best seen in FIG. 5.The upper end portion of the core 52 is provided with an externalannular recess 61. which receives internal annular flanges on a pair ofidentical half circular stop ring members 63, FIG. 2, to limit thedownward movement of the core 52 relative to the sleeve 42 as evident inFIG. 8. The upper ends of the stop ring halves 63 engage the internalstop shoulder a limiting the upward movement of the collet-coreassembly. The lower face of the flange 43 on the sleeve 42 is engageablewith the top face of the head portion 51 of the locking collet. Inassembly of the core 52 with the cylinder portion 15 of the housing, thestop ring halves 63 are placed on opposite sides of the upper endportion of the core with their internal flanges engaged in the externalrecess 61 of the core and the core and stop ring halves slipped into thehousing cylinder portion.

The collet locking sleeve 41 is suitably secured along its upper endportion to a ring 64 which slides on the sleeve 42 above its flange 43.The sleeve has a bleed port 4111 to reduce any piston effect as itmoves. The sleeve extends along the head portion of the collet at theupper release position of the sleeve, FIG. 1. The ring 64 is releasablylocked against movement on the sleeve 42 by a shear pin 65. The ring 64is reduced in diameter above an external annular flange 70 and isprovided with an external recess 71 immediately above the flange 70. Theoutward end of the shear pin 65 is covered by a shear pin skirt or cap72 which has a shear pin hole 73, FIG. 4, for insertion of the shear pinto the position shown in FIG. 4. The skirt 72 is rolled inwardly alongits lower annular end portion 720! into the external recess 71 of thering member 64 to hold the skirt 72 against upward movement on the ring.The flange 70 prevents downward movement of the skirt 72 on the ring. Inassembling the pulling tool, the shear pin skirt 72 is positioned 180revolved from the position shown in FIG. 4 aligning the hole 73 in theskirt so that the shear pin 65 is insertablc into position as in FIG. 9through the ring 64 and the sleeve 42. After insertion of the shear pin,the skirt is rotated to misalign the hole 73 from the shear pin so thatthe skirt holds the shear pin in place. The skirt 72 fits tightly enoughon the ring 64 that it does not accidentally rotate back to align thehole 73 with the shear pin. The external diameter of the sleeve 64 alongits upper reduced portion and the dimensions of the skirt 72 are sorelated that the external surface of the skirt 72 and the externalsurface of the retainer 33 are flush and the upper ends of the skirt 72and the ring 64 abut the lower end of the retainer 33 at the relativepositions of the pulling tool parts in FIGS. 1 and 6.

For running the pulling tool 10 into a well to retrieve a well device,such as the device 11, the pulling tool is assembled with its parts inthe relative relationships illustrated in FIG. 1. The sleeve 42 isplaced over the upper end of the core 52 and moved downwardly on thecore until the lower face of the flange 43 on the sleeve rests on thetop face of the head portion .51 of the collet. The shear pin 61 is theninserted through the sleeve 42 and core 52 to the position illustratedin FIG. 5 locking the sleeve 42 on the core. The shear pin skirt 72 onthe ring 64 is revolved to align its hole 73 with the shear pin hole inthe ring 64. The locking collet sleeve 41 with the ring 64 are installedover the upper end of the core 52 and the sleeve 42 with the sleeve 41being advanced downwardly to the position shown in FIG. 1 with the shearpin hole in the ring 64 aligned with the shear pin hole in the sleeve42. The shear pin 65 is inserted through the ring 64 and the sleeve 42and the skirt 72 is revolved until its hole 73 is out of alignment withthe shear pin for holding the shear pin in place locking the skirt 41 onthe sleeve 42 and over the collet head at the position shown in FIG. I.The retainer 33 is then placed over the core 52 and the sleeve 42 to theposition shown in FIG. I at which the lower end surface of the retainerrests on the top end surface of the ring 64. The stop ring halves 63 areassembled on the upper end portion of the core 52 engaged with therecess 61 and the stop ring halves 45 are assembled on the upper endportion of the sleeve 42 engaged in the recess 44 above and on the upperend edge 34 of the ring 33. The tool housing 14 is then installed overthe core 52 and sleeve 42 with the retainer 33 being threaded along itsupper end portion 334 into the threads 30 of the cylinder portion 15 ofthe housing. The pulling tool is then secured with the wire line toolstring 12 by threading the pin 21 at the upper end of the pulling toolhousing into the bore 22 of the socket 23 of the tool string. Thelocking collet fingers 50 project from the sleeve 41 at their normaloutwardly sprung positions so that as the tool string is lowered to thedevice 11 in the tubing or casing of a well, now shown, the colletfingers are lowered over the fishing head of the device.

The wire line tool string with the pulling tool supported therefrom asin FIG. I is lowered downwardly in the well until the locking collettelescopes downwardly over the head 54a of the well device 11 with thelower face 51a of the locking collet head 51 within the upper ends ofthe collet fingers resting on the top of the head 54a of the device 1 I.The jars, not shown, of the tool string are actuated to drive headportion 54d of the device ll downwardly so that the collet fingerlocking bosses 53 are moved below the shoulder 54 on the fishing head ofthe device 11. Structure including a well device having a head of thetype illustrated in FIG. 1 is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No.2,798,559, issued to J. V. Fredd, July 9, 1957, and in U.S. Pat. No.3,040,808, issued to Harry B. Schrarnm, June 26, 1962. At this stage inthe connection of the pulling tool on the device 11, the collet lockingsleeve 41 is held at its upper position on the locking collet 40 by theshear pin 65 as shown in FIG. 1 with the collet being telescoped overthe fishing head of the device 11 with the collet bosses 53 below theshoulder 54. Further downward jarring of the pulling tool by the jars inthe wire line tool string apply a downward force through the toolhousing and its cylinder portion 15 to the retainer 33 which urges thering 64 and the collet locking sleeve 41 downwardly while the lockingcollet and its head 51 rest on the top of the head 54a of the welldevice 11 so that the sleeve 42 engaging the top of the collet head 51is held against downward movement. When the downward force being exertedfrom the tool string through the ring 64 exceeds the shear strength ofthe pin 65, the pin is sheared and the pulling tool housing along withthe retainer 33, the ring 64, and the collet locking sleeve 41 aredriven downwardly on the sleeve 42 and the core 52 which are heldagainst downward movement by virtue of the locking collet resting on theimmobile head of the well device 11. The housing, collet locking sleeve,and related parts are driven downwardly until the shoulder a of thehousing head 20 engages the upper ends of the stop ring halves 63 on thecore 52. The housing of the pulling tool with the retainer 33 and thering 64 with the collet locking sleeve 41 are telescoped downwardly tothe position shown in FIG. 6 so that the lower end portion of the sleeve41 moves over the locking collet fingers camming them inwardly aroundthe fishing head of the well device 11. The collet heads 53 are squeezedradially inwardly to a closely fitting relationship around the surfaceof the device 11 below its locking shoulder 54.

The wire line tool string is then lifted pulling the housing 14 and theretainer 33 upwardly on the sleeve 42 away from the ring 64 since theshear pin 65 is severed and the retainer 33 is slidably fitted on thesleeve 42. The housing 14 and retainer 33 are lifted until the upper endface 34 of the retainer engages the lower end of the stop ring halves 45on the sleeve 42. The upward movement of the tool housing 14 along withthe retainer 33 relative to the sleeve 42 leaves the collet lockingsleeve 41 with its ring 64 at a downward collet locking position asshown in FIG. 6. Further upward force from the tool string raises thehousing 14 and retainer 33 to engage the ring halves 45 which applies alifting force from the upper end of the retainer 33 to the stop ringhalves 45, FIG. 7, raising the sleeve 42 shear pinned to the core 52.The locking collet is lifted with the locking fingers being heldinwardly at the locking relationship on the fishing head of the device11 by the downwardly positioned skirt 41. The inwardly held lockingbosses 53 of the collet are raised until they engage the shoulder 54 onthe well device head lifting the well device from its position in thewell bore. The close fit of the collet finger bosses 53 around thefishing head beneath the shoulder 54a permits maximum engagement betweenthe lifting surfaces on the bosses and the fishing head shouldersurface. The lifting surfaces on the bosses are formed at an anglecorresponding to the angle of the shoulder surface 54a so that fullsurface contact is obtained between the lifting bosses and the fishinghead shoulder. With the bosses being held tightly around the fishinghead by the collet locking sleeve looseness is minimized and with fullsurface contact even application of upward force is achieved by each ofthe collet finger bosses. Since the collet fingers may occupy a full 360around the fishing head, as they may be essentially compressed radiallytogether at their contracted positions, a maximum number of colletfingers may be provided in the collet so that the lifting force of thecollet is applied over substantially the entire 360 of the fishing headshoulder surface. The collet may be manufactured with the only spacebetween the fingers being that required for the cutting tool used toslit the tubular member from which the collet is formed to provide itwith the desired number of fingers which are then sprung outwardly totheir normal expanded positions as in FIG. 1. Thus, upward impact forcesare evenly distributed and the relatively tight fit of the collet fingerbosses minimizes any changing of angle of application of forces so thatminimum damage occurs to the fishing head shoulder. In the absence ofproblems such as the device 11 being stuck in the well bore, the deviceis lifted by the pulling tool to the surface.

The pulling tool is then uncoupled from the well device ll by raisingthe ring 64 and the locking sleeve 41 back to the position shown in FIG.1 allowing the locking collet fingers to spring back outwardly so thatthe collet is easily lifted off the head of the device 11. The well toolis then reset for reuse by removing the fragments of the shear pins 65remaining in the sleeve 42 and the ring 64. The shear pin skirt 72 isrotated until its hole 73 is aligned with the shear pin fragment so thatthe fragment may be removed from the shear pin hole in the ring 64. Thering 64 and the sleeve 41 are moved back upwardly until the upper end ofthe ring 64 engages the lower end of the retainer 33 with the upper endof the retainer 33 engaging the lower ends of the lock ring halves 45and the shear pin holes in the sleeve 42, the ring 64 and the skirt 72aligned so that a new shear pin 65 is inserted to lock the pulling toolparts back at the relative positions shown in FIG. 1. The skirt 72 isthen again rotated to misalign its hole 73 with the shear pin 65 and thetool is ready for reuse.

It will be noted that the relative proportioning of the parts of thepulling tool and the positioning of the shear pin 60 are such that afterthe shear pin 65 is severed driving the sleeve 41 downwardly to thecollet locking position of FIG. 6, the upper end portion of the retainer33 extends slightly upwardly over the exposed ends of the shear pin 60within the annular space between the cylinder portion 15 of the toolhousing and the sleeve 42 to prevent shifting or drifting of the shearpin 60 from its aligned position through the sleeve 42 and the core 52.If the shear pin 60 were permitted to drift in, it could interfere withthe operation of the tool by interfering with the upper end of theretainer 33.

In the event that after the pulling tool is locked on the well device 11as in FIG. 7 and the well device is stuck in the well bore and cannot bedisloged by a force less than that which will probably damage thepulling tool or other parts of the wire line tool string, the releasefeature of the pulling tool is employed. The jars of the tool stringapply an upward impact force on the pulling tool such that with thestuck well device ll tending to hold the collet and its core 52downwardly, the upward impact force on the pulling tool housing appliesan up ward force through the housing cylinder portion I5 and theretainer 33 to the split lock ring portions 45. The upward force on thelock ring portion 45 tends to lift the sleeve 42 against the shear pin60 which is being held downwardly by the core 52. When the upward impactforce exceeds the shear strength of the pin 60, the pin is severedreleasing the sleeve 42 for upward movement relative to the core 52 ofthe locking collet assembly. As the sleeve 42 is lifted its lower flange43 engages the lower end of the ring 64 lifting the collet lockingsleeve 41 relative to the collet which remains engaged on the lodged orstuck well device 11. The sleeve 42 is lifted by the pulling toolhousing until the upper ends of the sleeve and the stop rings halves 45engage the lower ends of the stop ring halves 63 applying an upwardforce to the collet core 52. By the time the stop ring halves 63 areengaged for lifting the collet, the collet locking sleeve 41 has beenraised to an upper position which permits the collet fingers 50 tospring back outwardly releasing the collet from the fishing head of thewell device ll so that the pulling tool is lifted from the well deviceas illustrated in FIG. 8. The wire line tool string with the pullingtool is returned to the surface and other means beyond the scope of thisinvention are employed to retrieve the device 11. The pulling tool isreset for further use by partial disassembly disengaging the retainer 33from the tool housing cylinder portion 15 to remove the fragments of theshear pin 60 and install a new shear pin with fragments of the shear pin65 being subsequently removed and a new shear pin 65 installed aspreviously discussed.

It will now be seen that a new and improved pulling tool for removingdevices from wells has been described and illustrated. It will beunderstood that the pulling tool includes a locking collet and a colletlocking sleeve and is operable for connecting with a well device in awell bore responsive to a downward impact force applied to the upper endof the tool. The tool lifts the device from the well and may be releasedin an emergency by application of an upward impact forcewhich moves thecollect locking sleeve back upwardly to permit expansion of the colletfingers and removal of the collet from the well device.

it will be further seen that the locking collet of the pulling tool maycomprise a plurality of circumferentially disposed flexible colletfingers inherently sprung outwardly to a position for connection anddisconnection with the fishing neck of a well device and moved inwardlyto locking position around the fishing neck of the device by atelescoping locking sleeve. The pulling collet is particularlycharacterized by collet fingers which may occupy substantially the full360 around a fishing head pulling shoulder on a well device. The colletpulling surfaces on the pulling tool are formed at the same angle as theshoulder surface on the fishing neck of the well device so that fullsurface contact is achieved. The unit area loading between the pullingtool collet and the fishing neck of the well device is reduced to aminimum by distribution of the impact pulling loads fully around thefishing neck pulling shoulder. Since the collet locking sleeve holds thecollet fingers tightly around the fishing neck, a minimum of movement ispermitted between the fingers and the pulling shoulder so that damage toboth the pulling shoulder of the fishing neck and the pulling surfaceson the collet fingers of the pulling tool is reduced to a minimum. Thelife of the fishing neck on the well device and the collet of thepulling tool are both extended.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory only andchanges in detail of the construction illustrated may be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent 1. A toolfor retrieving a device from a well bore comprising: a locking colletfor releasably coupling said tool with said device; a collet lockingsleeve for moving said locking collet between release and lockingpositions within said well bore when said locking collet is engaged withsaid device and for freeing said locking collet for return to saidrelease position; a nonresilient first operator sleeve connected with ahead end of said tool and adapted to engage said collet locking sleevefor applying a force from said head end of said tool directly to saidcollet locking sleeve in a direction toward said device for moving saidlocking collet from said release to said locking position; and anonresilient second operator sleeve engageable with said first operatorsleeve and with said collet locking sleeve responsive to a force applieddirectly thereto from said head end of said tool in a direction awayfrom said device to move said collet locking sleeve for releasing saidlocking collet from said device in said well bore.

2. A well tool in accordance with claim 1 wherein said locking colletcomprises a collet having a plurality of locking fingers disposednormally at expanded nonlocking positions and adapted to be contractedradially inwardly to locking relationship around a fishing neck on saidwell device.

3. A well tool in accordance with claim 2 wherein said collet lockingsleeve for moving said locking collet between release and lockingpositions comprises a sleeve adapted to be telescoped over said lockingcollet between first collet release and second collet locking positionsfor contracting said locking fingers from normally radially expandedrelease positions to radially contracted locking positions on said welldevice.

4. A well tool as defined in claim 3 including means associated withsaid locking sleeve for holding said sleeve at said first collet releaseposition until a force of predetermined value is applied to said sleeveto release said sleeve for movement to said second collet lockingposition.

5. A tool as defined in claim 4 including holding means operativelyassociated with said locking sleeve and said locking collet whereby saidlocking sleeve remains at said second locking position over said lockingcollet until a predetermined force is applied to said tool away fromsaid well device.

6. A tool in accordance with claim 5 including a shear pin holding saidlocking sleeve at said first collet release position and a shear pinholding said second operator sleeve at a position whereby said lockingsleeve remains in locked relationship around said collet until apredetermined force is applied away from said well device.

7. A pulling tool for retrieving a well device from a well borecomprising: a body having a head end; an elongated rod slidablysupported in'said body; a pulling collet supported from an end of saidrod, said collet having a plurality of circumferentially spaced radiallymovable locking fingers normally sprung outwardly to release positionsand compressible radially inwardly to locking positions for couplingover the fishing neck of said well device; a pulling sleeve slidablealong said rod; a collet locking sleeve slidably disposed on saidpulling sleeve and movable from a first collet release position to asecond collet locking position telescopically disposed over said lockingcollet responsive to a force applied directly from said head end of saidsaid first release position to said second collet locking position, andsaid operator sleeve collet locking sleeve for compressing said colletfingers radially inwardly around said fishing neck of said well device;a shear pin secured between said pulling sleeve and said collet lockingsleeve holding said collet locking sleeve at said first position andseverable responsive to a force applied to said head end of said pullingtool toward said well device for releasing said collet locking sleevefor movement to said second locking position along said pulling sleeveand telescopically over said collet fingers; a shear pin secured betweensaid rod and said pulling sleeve holding said pulling sleeve againstmovement and severable responsive to a predetermined force away fromsaid well device for releasing said pulling sleeve to permit saidpulling sleeve to move collet locking sleeve from said second colletlocking position back to said first collet release position; and anonresilient operator sleeve included with said body and slidablyengaged on said pulling sleeve, said operator sleeve having a firstoperator surface engageable with said collet locking sleeve for applyinga force from said head end of said pulling tool body directly to saidcollet locking sleeve for moving said collet locking sleeve from saidoperator sleeve having a second operator surface engageable with saidpulling sleeve for applying a force from said head end of said pullingtool directly to said pulling sleeve in a direction away from saidpulling collet for moving said collet locking sleeve from said secondcollet locking position back to said first collet release position.

8. A Well tool as defined in claim 7 wherein said locking collet fingersprovide a substantially continuous pulling surface to encompasssubstantially 360 of said fishing neck of said well device whencompressed inwardly around said fishing neck.

9. A well tool fior retrieving a well device in a well bore comprising:a tool housing having a first head end portion adapted to be connectedin a tool train for supporting and moving said well tool along said wellbore, said housing having a second end portion comprising an open-endedcylinder; an annular retainer ring connected at said open end of saidcylinder; a pulling sleeve slidably disposed through said retainer ring,said pulling sleeve being engageable at a first end thereof with a firstend of said retainer ring within said cylinder; a pulling colletslidably supported from said housing and including a rod portiondisposed through said pulling sleeve and having an end portion withinsaid cylinder engageable with said first end of said pulling sleeve forlifting said rod and collet responsive to engagement by said pullingsleeve when said pulling sleeve is engaged by said first end of saidretainer ring; means releasably interconnecting said pulling sleeve andsaid rod of said collet; a collet locking sleeve slidably disposed onsaid pulling sleeve for movement between a first collet release positionand a second collet lock position telescopically over said colletwherein the fingers of said locking collet are compressed radiallyinwardly to locking position by said collet locking sleeve, said colletlocking sleeve having a first operator surface engageable by a secondopposite end of said retainer ring for moving said collet locking sleeveto said second collet lock position responsive to a force applied tosaid head end of said tool housing toward said collet locking sleeve,and said collet locking sleeve having a second surface engageable bysaid pulling sleeve for retracting said collet ,locking sleeve from saidsecond position back to said first position directly responsive to aforce applied to said head end of said tool housing in a direction awayfrom said locking sleeve collet; releasable means between said colletlocking sleeve and said pulling sleeve for holding said collet lockingsleeve at said first collet release position and releasable responsiveto force applied from said head end of said housing through saidretainer ring to said first operator surface of said collet lockingsleeve toward said locking collet for movement of said collet lockingsleeve to said second collet lo ck position; and said pulling sleevebeing adapted to raise said collet locking sleeve from said secondposition back to said first collet lock release position and to liftsaid locking collet from said fishing head of said well deviceresponsive to a predetermined force away from said locking collet.

10. A well tool as defined in claim 9 wherein said pulling sleeveincludes a pulling flange and said locking sleeve includes a head ringengageable by said pulling flange for lifting said locking sleeverelative to said collet.

11. A well tool as defined in claim 10 wherein said pulling sleeve andsaid collet rod are each provided with stop ring members disposed alongend portions of said sleeve and said rod within said cylinder forholding said sleeve and said rod in operative relationship in saidcylinder and for lifting said sleeve and said rod in manipulating saidwell tool with said well device.

12. A well tool as defined in claim 10 wherein said locking colletcomprises a plurality of radially flexible circumferentially spacedcollet fingers providing shoulder faces comprising a substantiallycontinuous pulling surface encompassing substantially 360 of the fishingneck of said well device at the contracted locking positions of saidfingers on said fishing neck minimizing the unit pressure between saidlocking collet fingers and said fishing neck when pulling said welldevice from a well bore with said well tool.

13. The well tool of claim 11 wherein the upper end portion of saidpulling sleeve is engaged and lifted by said retainer ring after saidcollet locking sleeve is moved to said second collet locking positionfor retrieving said well device and said pulling sleeve is released fromsaid collet rod responsive to a predetermined force away from said welldevice when said well device is stuck in said well for releasing saidwell tool from said device whereby said pulling sleeve is first liftedby said retainer ring moving said collet locking sleeve back to saidfirst collet release position and said collet rod is subsequently liftedby said retainer ring and said pulling sleeve lifting and releasing saidcollet from the fishing neck of said well tool.

14. A well tool for retrieving a device from a well bore comprising:radially expandable and compressible locking fingers for releasablycoupling said tool with said device; a locking sleeve for moving saidlocking fingers between release and locking positions within said wellbore when said tool is engaged with said device and for freeing saidlocking fingers for return to said release positions; a firstnonresilient operator sleeve connected with the head end of said tooland adapted to engage said locking sleeve for applying a force directlyfrom said head end of said tool to said locking sleeve toward saiddevice for moving said locking sleeve along said locking fingers forcompressing said locking fingers inwardly to locking positions; and anonresilient second operator sleeve engageable with said first operatorsleeve and with said locking sleeve responsive to a force applieddirectly from said head end of said tool away from said device formoving said locking sleeve from over said locking fingers for releasingsaid locking fingers for radial expansion for release from said devicein said well bore.

15. A well tool for releasably engaging and retrieving a device from awell bore comprising: a collet having a plurality of radiallycompressible and expandable collet fingers for releasable engagementwith said device in said well bore; a rod secured to a ead end of saidcollet for supporting said collet;

a ring secured on the upper end of said rod providing a lifting surfacefor raising said tool from locked relationship with said device whensaid collet is released from said device; a pulling sleeve secured onsaid rod and slidable along said rod, said pulling sleeve having aflange around a lower end thereof providing an upwardly facing pullingshoulder surface and having a ring around an upper end thereof providinga downwardly facing shoulder surface for lifting said tool and said welldevice when said device is engaged by said collet; a first shear pinengaged through said rod and said pulling sleeve locking said pullingsleeve on said rod; a collet locking sleeve disposed on said pullingsleeve for movement, between an upper collet release position and alower collet locking position at which said collet locking sleevecompresses said collet fingers radially inwardly around said well devicefor locking said tool on said well device, said collet locking sleevehaving an upper shoulder surface for driving said sleeve downwardly fromsaid upper release position to said lower collet locking position, andsaid collet locking sleeve having a downwardly facing shoulder surfaceengageable by said upwardly facing shoulder surface on said pullingsleeve flange for lifting said collet locking sleeve from said lowercollet locking position to said upper collet release position; a secondshear pin connecting said collet locking sleeve with said pulling sleeveand holding said locking sleeve at an upper collet release position onsaid pulling sleeve; said second shear pin being weaker than said firstshear pin; a tubular tool body disposed over said rod and said pullingsleeve and having a lower retainer ring portion providing an upwardlyfacing shoulder engageable with said downwardly facing shoulder on saidpulling sleeve and having a downwardly facing shoulder engageable withsaid upwardly facing shoulder on said collet locking sleeve whereby adownward force on said housing applies to force directly to said colletlocking sleeve for moving said locking sleeve to a lower collet lockingposition and an upward force on said housing applies a force directlyupwardly from said housing to said pulling sleeve for lifting saidpulling sleeve to release said collet from said well device in said wellbore; and a tool head connected with said housing body for supportingsaid tool in a tool string in a well bore and for applying forcesupwardly and downwardly to said housing body from said tool head forengaging said tool with said well device and for releasing said toolfrom said well device in said well bore.

1. A tool for retrieving a device from a well bore comprising: a lockingcollet for releasably coupling said tool with said device; a colletlocking sleeve for moving said locking collet between release andlocking positions within said well bore when said locking collet isengaged with said device and for freeing said locking collet for returnto said release position; a nonresilient first operator sleeve connectedwith a head end of said tool and adapted to engage said collet lockingsleeve for applying a force from said head end of said tool directly tosaid collet locking sleeve in a direction toward said device for movingsaid locking collet from said release to said locking position; and anonresilient second operator sleeve engageable with said first operatorsleeve and with said collet locking sleeve responsive to a force applieddirectly thereto from said head end of said tool in a direction awayfrom said device to move said collet locking sleeve for releasing saidlocking collet from said device in said well bore.
 2. A well tool inaccordance with claim 1 wherein said locking collet comprises a collethaving a plurality of locking fingers disposed normally at expandednonlocking positions and adapted to be contracted radially inwardly tolocking relationship around a fishing neck on said well device.
 3. Awell tool in accordance with claim 2 wherein said collet locking sleevefor moving said locking collet between release and locking positionscomprises a sleeve adapted to be telescoped over said locking colletbetween first collet release and second collet locking positions forcontracting said locking fingers from normally radially expanded releasepositions to radially contracted locking positions on said well device.4. A well tool as defined in claim 3 including means associated withsaid locking sleeve for holding said sleeve at said first collet releaseposition until a force of predetermined value is applied to said sleeveto release said sleeve for movement to said second collet lockingposition.
 5. A tool as defined in claim 4 including holding meansoperatively associated with said locking sleeve and said locking colletwhereby said locking sleeve remains at said second locking position oversaid locking collet until a predetermined force is applied to said toolaway from said well device.
 6. A tool in accordance with claim 5including a shear pin holding said locking sleeve at said first colletrelease position and a shear pin holding said second operator sleeve ata position whereby said locking sleeve remains in locked relationshiparound said collet until a predetermined force is applied away from saidwell device.
 7. A pulling tool for retrieving a well device from a wellbore comprising: a body having a head end; an elongated rod slidablysupported in said body; a pulling collet supported from an end of saidrod, said collet having a plurality of circumferentially spaced radiallymovable locking fingers normally sprung outwardly to release positionsand compressible radially inwardly to locking positions for couplinGover the fishing neck of said well device; a pulling sleeve slidablealong said rod; a collet locking sleeve slidably disposed on saidpulling sleeve and movable from a first collet release position to asecond collet locking position telescopically disposed over said lockingcollet responsive to a force applied directly from said head end of saidsaid first release position to said second collet locking position, andsaid operator sleeve collet locking sleeve for compressing said colletfingers radially inwardly around said fishing neck of said well device;a shear pin secured between said pulling sleeve and said collet lockingsleeve holding said collet locking sleeve at said first position andseverable responsive to a force applied to said head end of said pullingtool toward said well device for releasing said collet locking sleevefor movement to said second locking position along said pulling sleeveand telescopically over said collet fingers; a shear pin secured betweensaid rod and said pulling sleeve holding said pulling sleeve againstmovement and severable responsive to a predetermined force away fromsaid well device for releasing said pulling sleeve to permit saidpulling sleeve to move collet locking sleeve from said second colletlocking position back to said first collet release position; and anonresilient operator sleeve included with said body and slidablyengaged on said pulling sleeve, said operator sleeve having a firstoperator surface engageable with said collet locking sleeve for applyinga force from said head end of said pulling tool body directly to saidcollet locking sleeve for moving said collet locking sleeve from saidoperator sleeve having a second operator surface engageable with saidpulling sleeve for applying a force from said head end of said pullingtool directly to said pulling sleeve in a direction away from saidpulling collet for moving said collet locking sleeve from said secondcollet locking position back to said first collet release position.
 8. AWell tool as defined in claim 7 wherein said locking collet fingersprovide a substantially continuous pulling surface to encompasssubstantially 360* of said fishing neck of said well device whencompressed inwardly around said fishing neck.
 9. A well tool forretrieving a well device in a well bore comprising: a tool housinghaving a first head end portion adapted to be connected in a tool trainfor supporting and moving said well tool along said well bore, saidhousing having a second end portion comprising an open-ended cylinder;an annular retainer ring connected at said open end of said cylinder; apulling sleeve slidably disposed through said retainer ring, saidpulling sleeve being engageable at a first end thereof with a first endof said retainer ring within said cylinder; a pulling collet slidablysupported from said housing and including a rod portion disposed throughsaid pulling sleeve and having an end portion within said cylinderengageable with said first end of said pulling sleeve for lifting saidrod and collet responsive to engagement by said pulling sleeve when saidpulling sleeve is engaged by said first end of said retainer ring; meansreleasably interconnecting said pulling sleeve and said rod of saidcollet; a collet locking sleeve slidably disposed on said pulling sleevefor movement between a first collet release position and a second colletlock position telescopically over said collet wherein the fingers ofsaid locking collet are compressed radially inwardly to locking positionby said collet locking sleeve, said collet locking sleeve having a firstoperator surface engageable by a second opposite end of said retainerring for moving said collet locking sleeve to said second collet lockposition responsive to a force applied to said head end of said toolhousing toward said collet locking sleeve, and said collet lockingsleeve having a second surface engageable by said pulling sleeve forretracting said collet locking sleeve from said second positioN back tosaid first position directly responsive to a force applied to said headend of said tool housing in a direction away from said locking sleevecollet; releasable means between said collet locking sleeve and saidpulling sleeve for holding said collet locking sleeve at said firstcollet release position and releasable responsive to force applied fromsaid head end of said housing through said retainer ring to said firstoperator surface of said collet locking sleeve toward said lockingcollet for movement of said collet locking sleeve to said second colletlock position; and said pulling sleeve being adapted to raise saidcollet locking sleeve from said second position back to said firstcollet lock release position and to lift said locking collet from saidfishing head of said well device responsive to a predetermined forceaway from said locking collet.
 10. A well tool as defined in claim 9wherein said pulling sleeve includes a pulling flange and said lockingsleeve includes a head ring engageable by said pulling flange forlifting said locking sleeve relative to said collet.
 11. A well tool asdefined in claim 10 wherein said pulling sleeve and said collet rod areeach provided with stop ring members disposed along end portions of saidsleeve and said rod within said cylinder for holding said sleeve andsaid rod in operative relationship in said cylinder and for lifting saidsleeve and said rod in manipulating said well tool with said welldevice.
 12. A well tool as defined in claim 10 wherein said lockingcollet comprises a plurality of radially flexible circumferentiallyspaced collet fingers providing shoulder faces comprising asubstantially continuous pulling surface encompassing substantially 360*of the fishing neck of said well device at the contracted lockingpositions of said fingers on said fishing neck minimizing the unitpressure between said locking collet fingers and said fishing neck whenpulling said well device from a well bore with said well tool.
 13. Thewell tool of claim 11 wherein the upper end portion of said pullingsleeve is engaged and lifted by said retainer ring after said colletlocking sleeve is moved to said second collet locking position forretrieving said well device and said pulling sleeve is released fromsaid collet rod responsive to a predetermined force away from said welldevice when said well device is stuck in said well for releasing saidwell tool from said device whereby said pulling sleeve is first liftedby said retainer ring moving said collet locking sleeve back to saidfirst collet release position and said collet rod is subsequently liftedby said retainer ring and said pulling sleeve lifting and releasing saidcollet from the fishing neck of said well tool.
 14. A well tool forretrieving a device from a well bore comprising: radially expandable andcompressible locking fingers for releasably coupling said tool with saiddevice; a locking sleeve for moving said locking fingers between releaseand locking positions within said well bore when said tool is engagedwith said device and for freeing said locking fingers for return to saidrelease positions; a first nonresilient operator sleeve connected withthe head end of said tool and adapted to engage said locking sleeve forapplying a force directly from said head end of said tool to saidlocking sleeve toward said device for moving said locking sleeve alongsaid locking fingers for compressing said locking fingers inwardly tolocking positions; and a nonresilient second operator sleeve engageablewith said first operator sleeve and with said locking sleeve responsiveto a force applied directly from said head end of said tool away fromsaid device for moving said locking sleeve from over said lockingfingers for releasing said locking fingers for radial expansion forrelease from said device in said well bore.
 15. A well tool forreleasably engaging and retrieving a device from a well bore comprising:a collet having a pluralitY of radially compressible and expandablecollet fingers for releasable engagement with said device in said wellbore; a rod secured to a head end of said collet for supporting saidcollet; a ring secured on the upper end of said rod providing a liftingsurface for raising said tool from locked relationship with said devicewhen said collet is released from said device; a pulling sleeve securedon said rod and slidable along said rod, said pulling sleeve having aflange around a lower end thereof providing an upwardly facing pullingshoulder surface and having a ring around an upper end thereof providinga downwardly facing shoulder surface for lifting said tool and said welldevice when said device is engaged by said collet; a first shear pinengaged through said rod and said pulling sleeve locking said pullingsleeve on said rod; a collet locking sleeve disposed on said pullingsleeve for movement between an upper collet release position and a lowercollet locking position at which said collet locking sleeve compressessaid collet fingers radially inwardly around said well device forlocking said tool on said well device, said collet locking sleeve havingan upper shoulder surface for driving said sleeve downwardly from saidupper release position to said lower collet locking position, and saidcollet locking sleeve having a downwardly facing shoulder surfaceengageable by said upwardly facing shoulder surface on said pullingsleeve flange for lifting said collet locking sleeve from said lowercollet locking position to said upper collet release position; a secondshear pin connecting said collet locking sleeve with said pulling sleeveand holding said locking sleeve at an upper collet release position onsaid pulling sleeve; said second shear pin being weaker than said firstshear pin; a tubular tool body disposed over said rod and said pullingsleeve and having a lower retainer ring portion providing an upwardlyfacing shoulder engageable with said downwardly facing shoulder on saidpulling sleeve and having a downwardly facing shoulder engageable withsaid upwardly facing shoulder on said collet locking sleeve whereby adownward force on said housing applies to force directly to said colletlocking sleeve for moving said locking sleeve to a lower collet lockingposition and an upward force on said housing applies a force directlyupwardly from said housing to said pulling sleeve for lifting saidpulling sleeve to release said collet from said well device in said wellbore; and a tool head connected with said housing body for supportingsaid tool in a tool string in a well bore and for applying forcesupwardly and downwardly to said housing body from said tool head forengaging said tool with said well device and for releasing said toolfrom said well device in said well bore.